Foot support



June 17, 1952 w. M. FULLR FOOT SUPPORT Filed May 20, 1950 l N V EN TOR. Ward 7. FU//er BY um@ A TTOR/VE Y Patented June 17, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOOT SUPPORT Ward M. Fuller, Sandusky, Ohio Application May 20, 1950, Serial No. 163,18?,r

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a cushion support for the foot, and an object is toV produce a new and improved cushion support for the foot which is relatively inexpensive and is designed to. be arranged in a shoe and which` is pocketedv to receive resilient inserts for exercising and strengthening the muscles and stimulating circulation in various regions of the foot according to the demands or requirements of the individual case.

Another object is to produce a cushion support for the foot in which the metatarsal support and outer and inner longitudinal foot support may be readily placed in position of use within the foot support and removed when desired, thereby enabling corrective measures to be applied to one or another or all portions of the foot.

A further object is to produce a simple and inexpensive cushion foot support adapted to be positioned within the shoe and which is simple and inexpensive to produce and to adapt to the individual needs of the wearer.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear, and for purposes of illustration but not of limitation, an embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a side perspective view of the cushion foot support for the left foot viewed from the under side;

Figure 1A is an enlarged sectional view on the line IA--IA of Figure 1;

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the under side of the cushion support and showing the rubber inserts which may be selectively introduced into the several pockets provided therefor by the support;

Figure 3 is a plan View of the cushion support for the foot showing the inserts in their respective pockets;

Figure 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional View on the line 4 4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged transverse sectional View of the line 5--5 of Figure 3.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a cushion support I0 which is adapted to t within the shoe and consists of a sponge rubber layer II which is relatively thin and is shaped generally to conform to the under side of the foot except for the toes. The sponge rubber layer II is vulcanized to a fabric piece I2 on the bottom side, the latter being of textile fabric which may be plastic coated on the upper side. On the under side of the foot support is a textile fabric layer I3, the inner surface of which may be plastic coated. The layer I3 is attached to the layers I I1 and I2 by a sewed seam I4- which is doubled at` I5 so that there are two seams near the outer end portion of the support for ay reason which will be hereinafter explained.

At the front end is; a sewed seam I6 which curves. outwardly as indicated. Then on the other side and similarly arranged is a seam I1 which starts from the free end and extends to the seam I4 and then is doubled upon itself as indicated at I8 for a portion of the length. As best illustrated in Figure 3, the sewed seam I4 is closer to the left-hand edge than to the righthand edge, thereby providing an elongate, relatively deep pocket A on the right-hand side, an elongate relatively shallow pocket B on the lefthand side, and an end pocket C at the front end.

.As shown in Figure 2, a strip I9 of sponge rubber may be cut by scissors or the like to fit in the pocket A. The thickness of the strip I9 will be selected according to the requirements of the particular foot. likewise, if desired, a strip 20 which may be cut to conform to the shape of the pocket B, may be inserted in it. At the front end, a somewhat oval-shaped sponge rubber insert 2I may be inserted in the pocket C as desired, the thickness of this insert being selected according to the foot requirement. As a matter of fact, an insert of one thickness may be used at the start and the thickness of such insert may be increased as time goes on in order to achieve the desired result.

In use, the person may trim the support so that it will t properly Within the shoe. For this purpose, the rear edge, or that edge having the double seam I4-I 5, may be cut with scissors to conform to the shape of the shoe or size of the foot. The double seam enables this to be achieved without the layer or ply I3 coming loose from the body of the support.

From the above description, it will be manifest that by sewing a single seam along the body of the support, the desired side pockets are provided, and then by sewing another arcuate seam, the third pocket for the forward end or metatarsal support is provided. The support can thus be produced simply and economically and can be readily shaped to the individual foot. Also, it will be clear that one or more inserts may be employed according to the needs in the particular case. In some instances, a single insert may be all that will be required. Of particular importance is the provision of the relatively Wide outside pocket which is adapted to receive the insert extending substantially the full length, this being wider than the inside pocket to afford corrective measures where needed. I regard the provision of the relatively wide outside insert receiving pocket and the relatively narrow inside insert receiving pocket of particular importance.

It is to be understood that numerous changes in details of construction, arrangement and choice of materials may be effected without departing from the spirit of the invention especially as defined in the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A cushion support for the foot designed to be arranged interiorly of a shoe, comprising a soft cushioning body portion conforming generally to the configuration of the shank and heel portion of the shoe insole, a lower soft flexible ply covering the lower face of the body portion, an

upper soft fiexible ply covering the upper face of the body portion, and a line of fastening extending from the rear end portion through the body portion and plies longitudinally between the side edges thereof and terminating in spaced relation from the front end, said line of fastening being disposed closer to the inner side of the body portion than to the outer side, and an arcuate line of fastening extending from the front end and extending through the body portion and plies and forming a junction with the said first line of fastening, said arcuate line of fastening being spaced from the edges of said support, thereby to provide between the upper ply and body portion a semi oval shaped pocket opening at the front edge for reception of a supporting pad, and elongate pockets on each side extending from the arcuate line of fastening to the rear end of the body portion for the reception of supporting pads and with the pocket on the outer side being of greater depth than the pocket on the inner side.

WARD M. FULLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,460,957 Froeschle July 3. 1923 1,602,323 Benning Oct. 5, 1926 1.941.713 Parsons Jan. 2, 1934 2,021,729 Johnson Nov. 19, 1935 

